Drone developer Bayraktar trains engineers to work in Ukraine

Baykar continues to use Ukrainian-made engines on its AKINCI and KIZILELMA drones , and Ukrainian engineers are already undergoing internships and experience exchange at the Baykar enterprise in Istanbul , who will later form a team at the enterprise in our country. Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar told Ukrinform.

"We are working shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine’s immensely talented engineers and technicians at our headquarters in Istanbul... They are not only adding to our existing strength but also naturally forming the future core team of our investment in Ukraine," said the CEO.

He emphasized that the company does not conduct a one-sided training program, but implements a mutual exchange of experience and competencies.

"We seriously benefit from their deep engineering experience and unique perspectives throughout our R&D and production processes in Türkiye. Moreover, we are adding to the capabilities of future Ukrainian engineers and technicians through our internship program," emphasized CEO of Baykar.

Haluk Bayraktar also noted the success of cooperation with Ukrainian partners who supply engines for drones.

"It is true that the war has affected this cooperation and we are watching the Ukrainian industry’s resilience under such difficult circumstances with deep appreciation... Our existing cooperations (with Ukraine – ed.) remain intact... The engines from our Ukrainian partners in strategic platforms like AKINCI and KIZILELMA which require more power and higher performance. We are completely happy with that cooperation," said Haluk Bayraktar.

At the same time, the company, according to Bayraktar, is working on import substitution and finding local solutions for its projects.

"We are redoubling our localization efforts and diversifying our supply channels. We have built our own engine for the Bayraktar TB2 UCAV. the Bayraktar TB3 platform is powered by the indigenous engine, which was developed by the Turkish company TEI... Of course, both we and other Turkish companies with the right capabilities continue to develop indigenous engines for those platforms in line with our nation’s goal of total independence," he added.

It should be noted that in 2022, Ukrainians raised money for drones manufactured by Baykar. At that time, the amount of donations exceeded $20 million, but the company refused to sell the drones, and instead provided them for free.

The company's CEO stated at the Defense Tech Valley exhibition that Baykar started out like today's young Ukrainian manufacturers. He emphasized that the situation in Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale war also contributed to the development of Baykar's technologies, because at that time Turkish drones were already on the battlefield.

In addition, Bayraktar stated that for technological advantage over the enemy, Ukrainians must scale up technology production and work on improving the "supply chain."